The Bat and the Eagle
by Raphael Havok Blake
Summary: 5 years after the events of the game, Batman visits S.T.A.R. Labs to speak to a certain prisoner. Batman's personality incorporates a little of Bruce Wayne. Also assumes the events of JLA: Obsidian Age and JLA Vol. 1 #90 happened. Rated T for adult situations. Naturally, I don't own any of these characters, storylines, or locations. My first fanfic so be honest!
1. Visitation

**The Bat and the Eagle**

The doors to S.T.A.R. Labs' containment facility open as a lone figure walks in, cape flowing behind him. His formerly gray armor now shined a bright silver, a large black bat emblazoned across it. Though he no longer wore his iconic cowl, everyone knew his name: Batman. The world's new greatest hero had stepped into the light, merging the public life of Bruce Wayne with the nightly crusade of his alter ego, removing his mask for a public that now idolized him for his role in bringing down High Counselor Superman. He'd even helped S.T.A.R. Labs design the very containment cells that he walked by now. But today wasn't a consultation visit.

The cells, each custom-designed, held someone that he once called a teammate, some he even called friend. As silver-black boots clacked down the hall, disgraced former heroes couldn't help but look up. Shiera Hall – Hawkgirl – grimaced and laid back on her bed, no doubt lamenting over her long-dead husband Carter, Hawkman. Barry Allen – The Flash – tapped on the shatterproof glass and smiled. Gravity emitters slowed him down to "normal" speeds, a countermeasure the Dark Knight himself had developed. Batman turned his head and nodded at the Scarlet Speedster, who had turned on Superman's regime and aided Batman's insurgents in the final days of the conflict. With only a year left on his sentence, Barry would be free to apply to the reformed Justice League soon, and he would be welcomed. Rachel Roth – the former Titan known as Raven, let off a near-inaudible growl, eyes flashing a brighter yellow at the presence of her jailor. She tried to curse at him telepathically, to reach into his mind and give him a piece of hers…but instead got a head full of feedback, courtesy of psychic inhibitors implanted in her brain, created by S.T.A.R. Labs with the assistance of Deathstroke's files on the Titans. Batman didn't even glance in her direction.

"FATHER!" The shout came from a cell to Batman's left. He stopped and faced the long-haired young man inside, pounding the triple-thick glass. He face was a twisted mess of anger and tears. Damian Wayne – son of Batman, the former Robin, the false Nightwing. "Please father," the man's voice broke, tears running freely now as he spoke, "I...I'm sorry. Please, just let me out." His father glared at him for a moment, his youngest boy, the reason why his oldest son Dick was dead. He turned heel and kept walking. Damian's sorrow vanished, replaced by pure rage. "Get back here, you coward! Let me out, or I swear I'll kill you with my own hands! Father! BATMAN!"

Batman stopped at the final cell on the hallway, newer by comparison. The woman inside stood up from her cot, but didn't come to the glass like Barry or Damian. Ice-blue eyes stared intently at her visitor. "Hello, Bruce."

"It's Batman to you, Your Majesty." Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, former Queen of Themiscyra, noted the snarl in Batman's voice.

"Sixth visit since I got here a year ago. Every time, I answered your pointless questions. What more do you want from me, **Batman**?" She paused, adopting a taunting smile "Unless you're just here to see me? After that night in the Hall of Justice…"

"A stupid mistake. An uncalculated risk." Batman silently wished he had the cowl now, not for the look, but to hide some of his facial expression.

"Selina had abandoned you, Kal was too hung up on Lois to notice me."

"It was just a moment of stupid weakness, Diana. You're reading into it too much."

"We still had feelings for each other." Diana's icy glare fixed on his eyes, but she felt her malice start to buckle. These visits had stirred something in her.

"There were no 'feelings.'" His gaze hardened. He knew how to control himself, how not to show weakness. So why was it so hard to do now?

"Then what do you call that kiss? The one all those years ago, before Tezumak and Gamemnae struck us down? A moment shared by warriors on the battlefield?"

"…yes." He could hear the pain in her voice, the unsaid want, but he couldn't break. Not with his former comrades all listening from their cells. Not even if he knew he was lying to himself.

"You're lying, **Bruce**. It was a desperate attempt to reconcile years of emotion in a fleeting heartbeat, and you know it. The same happened in the Hall of Justice."

Batman gritted his teeth. "Why didn't you hand me over to Superman right after, even though I was effectively your prisoner?"

"Is that what you came all the way here for? Because I think you already know the answer, World's Greatest Detective. It's the same reason why you really keep visiting. The same reason why you went after Selina after we resolved to remain friends all those years ago."

Batman slammed an armored fist into the glass, frustration burning behind his eyes. "What do you want me to say, Diana?! That it was more than just a moment?" Composing himself, Bruce turned to leave. "We're done here."

"I know you won't say it, not out loud," she said, pausing thoughtfully. "That night…I'd hoped you would join me. I was prepared to turn on Superman if you were prepared to leave your rebels. We could have overthrown him together. I could have been at your side as you remade the world. Yet here we are."

"Yet he we are," he repeated to himself softly. Batman spared himself one last glance at her as he walked away. He could barely hear the scornful laughter of his son as he passed by him. His head felt heavy, as if the truth were weighing it down. He needed time alone, to brood like in the old days. But he would return here, the seventh time. They were as different as a bat is to an eagle, but he would return, to see her.


	2. Contemplation

The automatic doors slammed shut. No more footsteps, and the prisoners went back to whatever they were doing, all except for Diana. That…**man** found a way to get under her skin, more than anyone she knew could. And now he was gone, leaving her with nothing but her own thoughts. That is, of course, if she could hear her own thoughts over Damian's continued laughter.

"You, and my father? You actually slept together?" Damian was doubled over, trying to stop laughing at what he had just heard. The other inmates tried their hardest to block him out, but it was a vain effort.

"Silence boy, or I'll…"

"You'll what," Damian taunted, "kill the son of the man you pine for? Betray his trust the same way you were willing to betray Superman's?"

Diana exhaled audibly. "Why are you doing this, Damian? You can't suffer in silence like everyone else in here, so you want to bring me down too?"

He scoffed, and went on. "I'm actually not all surprised, the more I think about it. Yet another sucker joins the Wayne Conquest Club. The number's so big, I bet they're running out of T-shirts to give to newbies like you."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, you really didn't know? My father's playboy act wasn't all just an act. He racked up a list of women that would've made Ollie jealous if he was still alive." Damian wished he could see the look on her face. The thought of it made him grin. "My mom, Catwoman, Huntress, that reporter Vicki Vale, Commissioner Gordon's daughter Barbara, Jezebel Jet, probably Harley Quinn after Joker bit it…there are a few more, I just don't remember them. I bet he doesn't either."

Diana sat back on her bed, processing this. Could that be true? Or was Damian just saying it to get to her, break her down the same way he was broken, make her hate Bruce as much as he did? "Why are you telling me this," she managed to ask, a croak in her voice as she spoke.

"Do you really think my father cares about you? About anyone? When we were at Stryker's Island, his voice and eyes didn't even waver as he told Selina 'there is no us anymore.' He didn't hesitate to tell me that I was no longer his son, as if blood meant nothing to him. My point, Diana, is that you're nothing to Bruce Wayne. You're another toy, something for him to play with until he finds another pair of legs to chase after. Then, just that quickly, you'll be all alone again. No friends to comfort you, no allies to distract you…no lover to be with you."

"ENOUGH!" A combination of magical wards and power dampeners was all that prevented the Amazon's fist from shattering the transparent sheet of Kryptonian crystal that formed her cell door. The boy managed to cut deep, and she couldn't hold back any longer. "That's not true! I know your father, I've known him longer than even you have. He –"

"He what? He loves you? Don't delude yourself, Your Majesty. The only things Batman loves are his suit and his mission. I don't care how much the public thinks he's changed, how much of a white knight they see. That man does not change." Damian allowed himself another chuckle. "In fact, I bet he's forgotten about you already. He's probably sharing his bed with Harley as we speak. Or maybe Cassandra. Maybe even both."

Diana couldn't even hear him anymore. Even if she could, she had no more words for the youth at all. No counterpoints, no backlash. She knew he was lying, about the conquests, about his apathy, but…what if he wasn't lying? What if the warrior she knew, the man who put even Olympus' finest champions to shame, was just the man his son was painting him as? He would know; after all, only a son could know his father's heart. What if this was his last visit? Worse yet, what if it wasn't? What if he managed to get her released to him, only to be abandoned for the next blonde that caught his eye? Every girl would want a piece of the world's greatest hero, after all.

Of greater concern to her was her own feelings. Of the men she knew since arriving in Man's World, she couldn't say that she truly loved any of them. Steve Trevor had been little more than infatuation, the first man she'd ever met. When he wanted to get serious, she realized that and left. Nemesis was no different; in fact, he did her a favor when he turned her down, she now realized. With Superman, she was attracted to the idea of him and what he could become. Strong, brave, invulnerable, like a modern-day Achilles. She thought that by guiding his path, she could turn him into a true warrior, someone who used his great power instead of fearing it, a hero without being a pushover, a god among men. However, the man he became was not what she had wanted. She tried her best to support him, but after he killed Shazam for no good reason, something had broken in her. She'd wanted him to be a king, not a tyrant; a warrior, not a killer; strong, brave, and fear-inspiring without having to be a murderer…and that's when she realized who she truly wanted and lured him to the Hall of Justice.

Using one of J'onn's Martian machines, she had once saw all of their possible futures together: happily married and mingling in each other's worlds in for decades in one, protecting Gotham together as Batman and Batwoman in another, his death by Joker's hand in another, her influence helping him to step into the light as he was doing right now in yet another. They spoke afterwards and agreed to not act on feelings, to just stay friends. She forgot all of that for one night, as she let Bruce see her passion. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to leave Superman and ask Batman to join her. Instead, she'd returned to Superman's side and rallied her Amazons to help him level Metropolis and Gotham, pushing that night into a little box in the back of her mind. She had failed, thwarted by another Wonder Woman from a world where Lois Lane still lived, a Wonder Woman who didn't guide Kal's footsteps, one who probably kept her part of the agreement she and Bruce had regarding their future and their hearts.

By all accounts, she should hate Batman for his part in locking her up, yet she didn't. In fact, her heart had leapt when she heard Damian shout his name from his cell. His presence made her resolve and veneer of indifference crumble. Could she actually be love with him? "Hera, give me strength," she said halfheartedly, laying back on her cot. Damian has finally taunted himself hoarse, if the silence in the cell block was any indication. What if he did visit again? What would she say, what would she do? Diana decided to cross that bridge if she reached it and closed her eyes to sleep.


	3. Concealed Thoughts

**A/N: Hi all! Sorry this took a little longer than usual; I was stuck in terms of what I wanted to do next (writer's block sucks, as I'm sure you're well aware). This chapter is a little slower-paced, and will be introducing somebody who I know at least a few of you will be happy to see ;) Without futrher ado, here is Chapter Three of The Bat and The Eagle!**

Batman couldn't even remember the drive back to Gotham from Metropolis. He considered it possibly a miracle that he was able to safely drive a high-speed Batmobile all that distance with the thoughts he had had running through his mind. Miles later, on the outskirts of Gotham City, they hadn't gone away.

The mansion was lonely and quiet without Alfred around anymore, leaving Bruce Wayne alone with his thoughts in his huge family estate. Diana had shaken him, more than anyone had in years. Not just the things she said, but the way she looked at him, those eyes…trying to show anger and hate but revealing so much pain, especially when he lied to her. The man who'd faced down serial killers, alien warlords, even super-powered world dictators, and this one woman, who was about as much a threat to him in that prison as Crazy Quilt was to just about anyone, managed to break his calm. Bruce stepped back out into the rebuilt courtyard for some air. Could he even go back again?

"Father!" The voice came from the skies above him as a woman descended. Her emerald eyes glittered in comparison to her orange skin and hair. She dashed over and embraced Batman fondly.

He smiled. "Welcome home." Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, better known as Starfire, wore a simple and only mildly revealing tank top and skirt. "I was half-expecting you to be wearing a crown and leading an army."

Starfire forced a smile for him. "My mission was…unsuccessful. I could not reclaim the throne of Tamaran, not while knowing what Superman was doing to my other homeworld, and therefore I could not rally my people to help. I am sorry, Father."

Bruce touched her cheek to let her know everything was going to be fine. Ever since Dick had died, Kori had confided in Bruce. Sharing her pain in losing him led Bruce to accept her at last, even referring to her as his daughter-in-law, though she and Dick never truly married. "You've been gone a long time, Kori. A lot has changed since I sent you away. We defeated Superman five years ago, and we're rebuilding now."

Starfire flew up and took a better look at Gotham off in the distance. Where once the One Earth banners flew and eerie silence gripped the city, now it looked and even felt happier from that distance. "I came directly here when I returned, hoping you had found a way to reclaim the cave without Superman's knowledge. I did not know the war had ended."

"Come on inside, I could use the company right now." Bruce led her into the mansion. Where Superman's goons had almost gone out of their way to wreck the place after Bruce was outed as the Dark Knight, he had managed to fix and refurbish most of it. Bruce sighed as he looked over at his daughter-in-law. He wasn't exactly a spiritual man, but her timely arrival was as close to divine intervention as he'd ever seen. With Tim and Dick dead, Damian in prison, and Jason and Cassandra in Nanda Parbat, his children had not been around. Starfire's arrival might be just the thing he needed to keep his mind off of her…

"What is troubling you?" Starfire asked. Of course she would ask that. He wondered if he was that transparent today, that even an alien with only some understanding of humans could tell he was troubled.

"I'm fine, Kori, it's just been a long day," he lied.

' Starfire floated over to him and leveled with his eyes. Glittering emeralds met cool baby blues. "Please, I know something is wrong. Maybe you should talk about it."

Bruce motioned to a chair as he sat down. "It concerns Wonder Woman."

Starfire's eyes flared. "Has she hurt you? I will find her myself, and I will –"

"No, it's more complicated than that." He took a deep breath. Too late to back out now. "The Princess – or should I say Queen now – and I have known each other for years and always had an admiration for one another. Neither of us said anything for a while; I was focused on my mission, and she was 'with' her Air Force pilot. On one mission, we found ourselves in an alternate timeline, with the odds stacked against us. Before a pair of Atlanteans struck us down, those feeling came to a head and we kissed. After we returned home alive and well, it stayed buried, and we agreed to stay friends.

"Over time, Catwoman and I drew together and I all but forgot about our moment in the Obsidian Age. I had assumed she did too. But…five years ago, before the final battle, we met at the Hall of Justice and those feelings reasserted themselves for one night. When I woke up alone but not in Superman's clutches, I moved on, and we won. I visited her in prison every so often, but earlier today when I went…something's been stirred in her, and I fear it's stirring within me as well."

"You love her." Starfire reached forward and touched her father-in-law's hand. "She was your friend, then your enemy, but you loved her, deep down, no matter what."

"Yes." Bruce's voice was even more hoarse than usual. "I know it's wrong, and illogical. Yet, I don't think I care. And for the first time in a long time, I don't know what to do. She's a prisoner, a traitor in the eyes of the people, the same people who have crowned me their savior. If they were to see me with her…"

"When I first brought Dick to Tamaran," Star interrupted, "I knew the people I was to rule would not approve. He, for all of his good qualities, was not royalty after all. I did not care, though. And neither should you." She took his hand into hers. "If that is how you really feel about her, than let her know. She is no longer your enemy, Father, you do not need to keep how you feel to yourself." She smiled warmly at Bruce. "The world is safe; now you make yourself happy."

Bruce smiled, something Kori was not particularly used to. "Thank you," he said, surprising his daughter-in-law even further. "Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"No," Starfire said regretfully. With Titans Tower destroyed and Dick dead, I am without a home."

"Stay here, I have more than enough guest rooms and nobody to use them. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to attend to something."

**A/N: Well, that was a bit different. Hope you like what I did with Starfire, and don't worry, this is probably not the last time we'll see her. Thank you so much to all you who've favorited and followed my story for your patience, Chapter 4 will be coming soon. In the meantime, check out my other stuff to tide you over :)**


End file.
